Last Friday marked the 30^th legislative day of our 90-day session. We have reached the 1/3 completed mark! We will continue with half-day floor debate followed by committee hearings every afternoon beginning at 1:30 each afternoon through the last full week of March. On March 31, the Legislature will move to all-day floor debate.

I was happy to get my first two bills passed on Final Reading on Friday: LB38 (geologist bill) and LB108 (firefighter cleanup bill). Both bills now head to the Governor’s desk for his signature. Getting these bills heard in committee early and voted to the floor made it possible to get them scheduled for floor debate and ultimately passed. As more and more bills are passed out of committee, there are more bills available for the Speaker to schedule for floor debate. Getting non-priority bills scheduled will become more difficult and, at some point, impossible, as only bills with a priority designation will be scheduled for floor debate.

The Speaker reminded Senators this week that individual and committee priority bill designations are due on March 14. Anyone wanting a bill to be considered for a Speaker Priority designation must have their request to the Speaker on or before March 13. Although there is no guarantee that all priority bills will be scheduled for debate, they are guaranteed to be heard ahead of non-priority bills outside of any consent agendas or those that have already begun moving through the process. There are several bills pending in committees that will be controversial bills. Many of those will likely get the introducing Senator’s priority designation. When they are scheduled for floor debate will likely impact how fast bills are heard going forward.

One topic we discussed last week was a pair of dueling Daylight Savings Time bills. Both bills were voted to Select File so everyone could have time to let the debate sink in and think about their preference. The first bill is LB34 introduced by Senator Hunt. Her bill would move Nebraska to year-round Daylight Savings Time, subject to Congressional approval. Colorado has already adopted a similar bill. The second bill is LB302, introduced by Senator Murman, which would place Nebraska on permanent Standard Time once at least three states that border Nebraska do the same. Although there was no consensus on which bill to support, we all agree that our constituents want to stop moving their clocks twice yearly.

Although I prefer to have more sunlight in the summer, it is becoming clearer that LB302 is probably the better option. The Nebraska Medical Association shared research that indicates that our bodies’ internal clocks, or circadian rhythms, are primarily regulated by natural sunlight exposure. Standard time aligns more closely with the sun’s position throughout the year and is better for syncing with these natural rhythms. Studies show that Daylight Savings Time causes people to temporarily misalign this rhythm causing sleep disruptions, fatigue, and increases in stress.

I still have concerns about how the time zone change and the changes in Daylight Savings Time could affect the areas of Nebraska in Mountain Time. Depending on how Colorado and Wyoming decide to operate, the areas of Nebraska in Mountain Time could be out of sync with Colorado, Wyoming, and more eastern parts of Nebraska.

It should also be remembered that permanent Daylight Savings Time would mean that the sun would not rise this time of the year until 9:00 a.m. Let that sink in. The next round of debate for these bills will probably be back on the schedule soon. If you have a strong opinion one way or another, please let me know. At this point, I plan to support LB302.

Unfortunately, not everyone will be happy with whatever decision we come to, but I hope everyone understands the issues.

I look forward to continuing to hear from you about issues that are important to you. It is a privilege to serve as your State Senator, and I will continue to give my full effort to make a positive difference for the District and the State. You can reach me at mjacobson@leg.ne.gov or 402-471-2729.